Can anyone share their beginning symptoms, progression, and diagnosis?

I have a 5 year old who has been dealing with tics for a while. His first tic was eye blinking when he was 3, and he has had many since then sniffing, throat clearing, head rolling, shoulder shrugging, and his latest is eye rolling and something he does to his eyebrows along with it (hard to explain). There were others which may or may not have been tics. Sometimes their very frequent. Sometimes they seem like they stop, but then soon we discover a different tic.

They do not really interfere with his life right now and no one really makes fun of him or anything which is good. He has other problems at school with attention and perfectionism which affect his ability to get work done. He goes to a hlf day kindergarten. His pediatrician is aware of his tics and his other issues. She has suggested we wait until 1st grade to see how he does and decide what to do then (about the inattention mostly).  So now it's a waiting game, but I just can't stop thinking about it.

I have a feeling Tourette Syndrome may eventually be part of his diagnosis along with maybe ADD and OCD. I was hoping some folks could share their onset, progression, and diagnosis stories with me so I might know what to watch out for in the future or maybe just to put some worries to rest. I would also love any suggestions you may have for me.

[heyjude1]

Hi, My tics started around 10-11 yrs. and it was a mild case.  I blinked my eyes not stop and it lasted a year or so and went away.  So, I can't be much help to you.  
Have you had your son to the Neurologist?  I know there are many many helpful drugs to treat Tourette Syndrome..  Perhaps with early  treatment the progression would  slow or stop?  I hope someone with more knowledge can help.  Best of luck to you and  your son. Hey Jude

[kws06]

I have identical twins with the condition for us it started when they were in nursery with the odd tic, the first I remember was gulping tic, shortly after that neck tics followed but it wasnt to bad and then as they reached 8 things got worse, they then were doing shoulder shrugging, jerking their necks, blinking, grunting, throat clearing, sniffing, so many to list, one of the boys also had sound sensitivity. I got one of them seen age 8 and was pretty much fobbed off, a year later I went back and both boys were diagnosed age 9. They are now 13 and tics have calmed loads for them thankfully, I would start just keeping a diary of the tics and times they are worse.

[Rachelinpain]

your on sounds just like mine.  he is 7 now and started having tics at age 2 with severe eye blinking which at the time we thought was just some sort of bad habit.  he has had some sort of tic ever since and now they seem to be getting much worse.  he also does the eyerolling with eyebrow thing and then a head roll.  he snorts alot and grimaces and also has echolalia where he repeats words and phrases to himself over and over.  he is supected of having an autism spectrum disorder as well.  i am beginning to suspect that he may indeed have tourettes.  pedi isnt concerned at this point but i can see he is becoming self aware and is starting to be self conscious and will try to hold it in which leads to a huge releae of tics at a later time and i can see he is in physical discomfort when he is holding it in...i am just trying to make him understand right now that tics are part of who he is and he need to do them when necessary.  i am starting to get concerned that he they are starting to impact his life now and that they will continue to get worse.  i have recorded some of his tics and put them on youtube if you want to compare

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyksKW31igM

i have another more recent one i need to post but my camera is malfunctioning so hopefully it will be posted in the next few days.  would love to hear from you and how your son is doing as it seems we are in the very same boat.  hope you get some answers.

[angels4kali]

First of all, thanks to everyone who has replied so far.

I went ahead and scheduled Tony for a visit to the pediatric neurologist. We go see them May 13, 2010. I will update this post after the appt to let you now how that goes. I have also started to keep a journal of his tics, when they're worst and when they're not so bad. I also took a video and cut clips to isolate the different tics. I am going to try to get more/better video before the appt, but I'll give you the links in case you want to check them out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IUCanEN3G4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_SKcUFILVo

I feel like I am doing something useful now, so I am not so unprepared when and if they begin to affect his daily living in a meaningful way.

[angels4kali]

Over the last few days he cropped up with a new vocal tic. I caught a video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wWpovjBZns

I can't wait until May.

[Robin70]

I can relate to what you are dealing with regarding your son. I myself at age 40 have tourette syndrome, however years ago, it was not diagnosed when my symptoms started around age 12, and I actually diagnosed myself as an adult when my daughter starting with tics at about age 2. She had all the same tics that you and others have mentioned. I took her at about age 6 to a neurologist and basically gave them my diagnosis in which they concurred was tourettes and she was on medication until about age 12. After age 13 she seemed to be able to control her tics and did not want to continue taking medication. Things went well for the last 5 years, although she did still have tics, they were not too noticable nor did they affect her. Now that she is 18, her tics have not only become bothersome to her and alot more frequent, she is experiencing severe headaches due to the eye rolling/twitching etc. She has also started with the mouth grimace tic again. She has an appointment in a week with a new neurologist and is anxious to get her tourettes under control. My suggestion is make sure you have found a neurologist who is very familiar with tourette syndrome and can give you all the answers and assistance on helping your son deal with this. It may seem odd at 5 to be under stress but stressful situations and anxiety (as you indicated he may have ADD or OCD) tend to make the tics worse. Good luck to you and your son and to all the others who are dealing with this condition. I will tell you as I have gotten older, I still notice while under stress my tics will come out, however with age it is usually possible to control them. I wish you the best.

[21687]

Hiya, my situation is probably pretty different as my tics first properly appeared when I was 16. (this was when they physically appeared though previously since age 5 I had felt a strange tightness inside that I didn't know how to get rid of. This only temporaily subisded after I started ticcing and this seemed the only way I could get rid of it, even for literally 10 seconds in really bad cases). But my first tics appeared as a twitch in one eye where it would sort of wink, I had a nose tic where it would twitch like a rabbit (I still have both of these) and a sideways mouth twitch where I would do like a half smile. When they started out they weren't constant but after about 2 weeks I became very concious of them because I realised they weren't just a random little twitch but something that didn't seem to be going away. I do now have vocal tics and other tics too but those 3 were the ones I started out with. Hope your son is OK.

[Darkone24]

Tourettes is most common in boys about a 80/20 split boys to girls. It usually starts between ages 6 - 10 but can delay until onset of puberty around 12 - 14.
Tics uaually start with coughing or throat clearing noises and progress throughout life with no two Touretters having identical symptoms or tics, however most people with Tourettes do not really like to be in a room with another person as they tend to both develop each others tics.
I started with mouth grimaces, eye twitches, head throwing and throughout the last 33 years have managed to develop a good level of control. It is virtually impossible for anyone with Tourettes to Stop their Tics, by choice for a long amount of time due to the nature of Tourettes. It is like having an itch that just builds and builds until you JUST have to scratch, and most who can stop their tics for a while have a "blow out" after doing so.
Alcohol does slow down the tics by relaxing the brain but this is not a viable solution to the issue. There are no set medications for treating Tourettes but having tried over 40 different ones I can say that some work, some do not and some really do not.
Tourettes can often be accompanied by OCD and ADHD but for most one or both conditions often are not diagnosed together, you need a good neurologist.
The best thing to do is reassure him he is a normal boy and as time goes by and he develops tell him the truth. My parents punished me for pulling faces and grinning and spitting but you really can not control what form the tics will take.
Advice groups are helpful and it would probably be very helpful for him to know people who have Tourettes, if he is diagnosed.
Somethings can seem to stop the tics for quite a long time and I can say that if I am proccupied doing something that takes my conscious mind away I do not have tics. ie: working out with weights, singing ie kareoke or school choir, working intentky on computer or hard physical activity but what works for me may not work for everyone.
Love him and see a good doctor.

[alexm15]

Hello,

I had tourettes syndrome when I was younger. I was around 11 years old when the symptoms first started, which were:

- shaking of the head

- shaking/bone grinding of left wrist

- uncontrollable noises / sounds

- other movements like lifting of shoulder at times, throwing my arm out as if throwing something.

Some days the symptoms were very bad, worse when I was by myself (as no one was watching, I didn't have to 'control' / 'contain' it as much, even so I couldn't really control it very much). It was not until years later that I discovered what caused it, what started it, and in my opinion it is the root cause for many - if not all - tourettes worldwide. It may be controversial and I understand why, as you will see later.

When I was 11 years old I had my first of many mercury amalgam fillings. (You know the silver looking fillings for tooth cavities.) I started a new school and my parents wanted to get 'my teeth sorted' before starting a new term - so I wouldn't have to miss any days off school by going to the dentist. So I had around 5 or 6 fillings a few weeks before starting school. I would eventually have around 12 fillings in total.

I remember asking the dentist at the time just before getting the mercury fillings if I could have the other style ones (white plastic/ceramic non-mercury versions), maybe that was a premonition of what was to come. Anyhow he said "sorry you should have said it earlier, i've prepared the mercury amalgam already, you'll just have to have that." At 11 years old, there's not much you can do. When he finished the fillings and after I went home, I noticed I still had a lot of the mercury filling material in my mouth, which I swallowed.

My tourettes started a day or 2 after that. After careful research I have found out that Dentists have to take a lot of precautions to make the amalgam, as this substance is very toxic! Even the bottle the amalgam comes in says ‘toxic' on the bottle! And they stick it in your mouth, and you have it there for the rest of your life!? In my case, if you add up all the filling material - that is a lot of mercury material to have in your mouth! I have worked in waste management consultancy - you would be staggered at the precautions we take to remove mercury from various areas /sites that are contaminated - even with just trace levels. This is one of the many data points - during my life - that helped me come to the root cause of tourettes. I have read many, many research papers on mercury.

Mercury amalgam is banned is many countries due to toxicity issues. Think back to when your problem started - does it coincide with your tooth fillings? Or another instance of metal poisoning?

This cure / cause is not commonly spoken of because if will effect the medical and dentistry industry quite a bit. As mercury is used in not only mercury fillings but in vaccinations and other products (like contact lens solution etc etc). Did you know you will normally inject a baby / child with more than 20 vaccinations before they are 16!

I went through a mercury detox program, had my fillings removed by a special dentist (and replaced by non-mercury amalgam), no longer took vaccinations and surprise surprise - MY TOURETTES IS GONE. I've never had a recurrence - apart from once - about 10 years ago, when before I went travelling I was told I would need a hepatitis vaccination - and bingo I had a small tourettes attack the very evening when I got home!! I hadn't had a recurrence for years.

I am happy to share the mercury detox I went through, but you can find info on the web if you look around.

Remember the expression "as mad as a hatter"? Do you know how this expression started? Well, hat makers many, many years ago used mercury to polish / shine hats, particularly top hats. It was impossible for hatters to avoid inhaling the mercury fumes given off during this process. Hatters often suffered mercury poisoning as the mercury vapor caused neurological damage including confused/slurred speech, eye blinking and all the symptoms of tourettes (this was concentrated mercury they were dealing with here), shaking of the head, swearing / shouting and other uncontrollable bodily movements were very common amongst hatters - even peeing themselves - hence "as mad as a hatter." Welders also often develop tics - this is due to the metal fumes they breath in (manganese in their case, and syptoms (symptoms) are very similar to tourettes).

In amalgam fillings it is around 40% mercury and this is released slowly during the years it is in your mouth. Of course dentists and doctors say that it is not harmful, but they are just telling you parrot fashion what they have been told by the mercury amalgam manufacturers and their colleagues, without doing any independent research for themselves.

If you have tourettes, do it - remove all the mercury from your life. Do your own research, don't just take my word for it. Remove your mercury fillings and don't take vaccinations which contain mercury. Undergo a heavy metal detox program. The basics of this can be found easily on the web. But simply it is to take a lot of Spirulina / chlorella and green veg, such as parsley, and also undergo a fruit 'fast' for example for a couple of weeks. You want to remove all the mercury (as much as possible anyway) from your body. A ‘fast' coupled with a good detox program (such as collonics, saunas and special diet) is very effective.

When removing the amalgam fillings try to ensure you use a special dentist (but this is not always necessary) that is aware of the dangers of amalgam, as mercury vapour is released during the removal of the fillings, symptoms of tourettes can increase for a short period. You need to obviously minimize the amount of mercury entering the body, and in particularly the brain.

(A good analogy is to think of the body as a large robot or computer, with veins as circuits for example and the organs hardware. Mercury is a very good conductor and when this hits the blood stream - especially the brain it short circuits systems in the brain which cause involuntary movements, just as if you had a piece of wire and shorted a circuit board.)

Tourettes is caused by mercury toxicity in the brain (via the body), and affects people that are highly sensitive to mercury and mercury compounds.

As mercury affects people in different ways and to different degrees some people will have a high tolerance to mercury and may not have noticeable affects, but in general mercury (and other metals) can cause MS, ADD, all types of tics, Alzheimer's in later life, and many other neurological disorders. You will benefit from a heavy metal detox if you have any of those conditions.

Do you remember when your son's tics started? Think back - did he have any vaccinations or receive amalgam fillings just before the symptoms started?

[alexm15]

Here is a video of Dr Andrew Wakefield - watch all the parts.

It shows how the medical industry treats people that do not agree with their system. Dr Wakefield for example found that during his research mercury compounds (in vaccinations) - particularly thimerosal for example caused many neurological conditions - especially Autism. Aluminium compunds and other ingredients also effect the brain and often are included in vaccinations. This oesnt effect the whole populartion -just a minor %.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drq8zvT-HVc&feature=related

How was he treated by the medical establishment? - he was vilified and attacked and was banned from practicing in the UK and much of the story hushed up. He was one of the leaders in his field. He now practices in the US.

The autism issue is very similar to the tourettes issues (and ADD etc). Mercury through vaccinations have damaged countless children. Dont take my word for it - research as much INDEPENDENT material as possible and come up with your own conclusion.

best regards,

[Jeremy28462]

I started out with Tics..i was twitching my head alot around the age of 8.a couple years after..I started having Tics again only with my eyes..I can remember only little medication because i only have a mild case of it

[jhollie]

My 12 year old son just started eye tics.  Turns out it is from the strep throat he had last month.  Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections.  Not sure how long it will last.  He has hashimotos/hypothyroidism also.  Found out when he was 10. We are still trying to get his levels under control. They say a lot of kids can get the tics or ocd from strep.  Some don't even know they had the strep, but they have an antibodies test and if it is positive they can give antibiotics.

[wineandroses]

Okay, this question if for the adults that had tourettes as a kid.  I had a mild case of blinking eys and still occassionally have the eye twitch when I am upset or really, really stressed.  My question is this....have any of you been dx with Bipolar?  I ask because I have been and while doing research on bipolar I came across an article on line regarding tchildhood tourettes and bipolar having a link.

[burchambabe]

My daughter has tourettes and anxiety.  Yes as I understand it, depression, anxiety, bipolar, OCD, ADD can all go along with tourettes.  If you only have an occassional eye twitch and occational blinking of the eyes, this may not be tourettes but just a nervous twitch.  My daughter's tourettes started about age 8 with a jumping twitch, it got noticably worse at age 15 with a tongue thrust and throat clearing.  She is twenty-two now and her tics have gotten worse yet, especially with stress.  She has face grimicing, neck/head rolling, throat clearing, eye blinking, and jerking of her limbs.  We have been to all kinds of doctors since she was 15.  She has not seen a neurologist to any extent, but I believe that is where she is headed.  It breaks my heart to watch her after she has had a bad day.  The tics totally wear her out physically and mentally.  They say that a lot of times people out grow the tics, but so far we have not seen that happen.  Good luck to you wineandroses and everyone who has been afflicted by TS.

[mancinism]

Hello, I m going to suggest sports, my Daughter is 10 years old now and diagnosed with Touretts she actually shows the same sighns as your child and no one makes fun of her at all , being athletic has giving her the confidence to talk to her peers when they have questions and she has lots of friends.

I was told by my Dr that people with Tics use all their mucles more ofter then most people and so when they join a sport they most often excel at that sport! I found this to be true, I enrolled my daughter into Gymnastics only a year ago and she won the NYS championship this year -( That never happens ) it takes years to learn and train for this stuff but she is a perfectionist who also works hard, she has also learned to better manage her tics ( they do not go away ever ) but she is a confidant young lady because of her sport!  -  nurture talent so that confidence grows . I wish you and your family the best. - Dawn

[bethyb6463]

i am a 31 year old mother of two young boys. i grew up w ts, and had a lot of different tics which my parents (mostly my dad) thought if they told me to stop or make fun, that i could just stop! i was never diagnosed with ts growing up, doc just said i had nervous tics. after my parents divorced in my pre-teen years, my tics slowly went away... so we thought. the more stress i was under (ie: school, social gatherings) they would come back. as i got older (teen-now) when i become really stessed i get some tics and usually end up with rage swings. after i had my first son, i went to the doctor because of what i thought was just bad anxiety and a little post pardom, i was put on Zoloft. i've come to find that the anxiety, rage, ocd, and add are all associated with turettes!! wish they would have known this a long time ago.. i was always looked at as wierd, and developed strong social fears because of it and it held me back alot.. i wouldn't want to medicate a young child, as i have a 1.5 and a 3 year old myself (who, i worry will carry the ts gene), but do some research on the subject and discuss your findings and concerns with your childs doctor. there is alot of helpful info on the web.. take care~ bethyb

[normajean317]

My daughter is 9 years old and was diagnosed with TS last December. It came as a great shock and has took some coming to terms with. She has had several tics: head nodding. constant 'tuck jumps' and touching the floor, grunting, sniffing, squeaking with her lips, eye blinking and compulsive touching of things. She also has adhd, mood swings, perfectionism, hyperactivity. Although she is very bright and articulate. I constantly worry about her future, how she will be treated by other people.

[myfamily]

My Husband has TS and so does my stepson who is 8. NEITHER OF THEM HAVE HAD ANY fillings or any significant dental work EVER. So, maybe your TS is from old fillings but not all TS sufferers are the same.

Although I KNOW that the amalgam fillings DO cause other issues but this forum is not for those.

[JENNYKISSEDME]

I was diagnosed with TS when I was in fourth grade.The tics started when I was 6. I was in a musical for the Lion King and my whole time on stage I kept stretching my mouth, and cracking my jaw. My parents video taped it and when we watched it they noticed something wasn't right. I would stay awake all night long because no matter how much I twitched it was never enough. My mother would have to take me to Wal-mart at 3am. I couldn't sleep because I had impulses to just walk around and touch everything. I would tape my fingers together or put something heavy on top of them to try and make them stop moving. It was very hard growing up because I would sit in class and I would have to shrug and pop my shoulder. The people who sat behind me always asked me to stop. So, eventually I wore heavy sweaters and sat in the back. I'm almost 21 now and I still have all the first symptoms but many others have developed. I have an eye twitch, I have to pinch between my fingers,crack my wrist neck ankles,jaws,tilt my head.- There is too much to list. I saw soo many doctors and all of them would say its behavioral she wants attention. It wasn't until I was recommended to two amazing neurologist that we found out. I thought I was nuts. I felt weird, I knew I was different BUT I didn't know how or why. Thankfully, they did.The most important thing to you can do to help your son if it is T.S.. Let him know hes not weird,inform him,support him and be patient. Yes, it may be difficult for people without it to deal and sometimes you may feel embarrassed when you're out as a family.but as hard as it is for you, its worse for us.

Your best chance to find out if it is Tourettes is to go to a Neurologist and always get a few opinions.I went to 12 doctors before I knew what was going on with my body.

[Elizabeth_reasha]

Hi,

I read your post and I have to tell you my brothers story.. He was diagnosed with add, tourretts, by age 5. Over the years it got worrse and OCD, and ODD were evident by age 8. I finally started doing research on any natural way to help, my own son has ADHD-PI. So I told my mother to try some of the things that I was giving my own child. Well I'm pretty sure I saved her life or his. First I had her start him on trace minerals, The tourretts disapeared with that, but all the other issues were still present, then I had her add a good b-complex supplement, and I like liquid everything, I believe kids with these nerological issues have problems absorbing nutrients. He is on a Good liquid multivitamin as well. He was on just minerals and vitamins, and b's for over a year, and his tourretts and ocd were pretty managed. It seems like as they get older the symptoms become worse before they get better, well he was doing okay, except for the ODD (oppositional defiance disorder). So I recomended stress pills, all natural herbal stress pills, Well that elimonated the outbursts of rage and the constant accusing everyone for his behavior, and it seemed to help completly elimonate the OCD and the tourretts.

Now I've had sisters and friends say to me well maybe he is just outgrowing these disorders, but the fact is if my mother forgets to give him one of his supplements his symptoms were coming back, by the way I also convinced her to try changing his diet, she was hesitent thinking they have a healthy diet and she didn't think that could be affecting him, Well she finally did take him off of gluten and dairy. WOW what a difference that made, and she will tell you herself as long as that child lives in her house he doesn't eat gluten, she let him cheat on his bday and well put it this way it was 2 days of hell.. Him screaming at her and loosing his temper.. Oh by the way he was already off of refined sugars and he doesn't eat meat, but if I was you I would only give him organic.

I am writing to you because I was at every dr appointment with my mother, and I saw how the dr's treat these disorders, the only answer any of them had was drugs, and by the way with all these issues drugs arn't that effective. It seems like some of them can come and go depending on the childs stress or what vitamin they are on. My son was periodically having OCD, it would come and go.. By the way epsom salt baths are a really good way to get some minerals into your child, and I also really like floradix iron and herb, it has bvitamins and vitamin c. and I personaly use childlife multivitamins. This is going to be a long battle and you will have good months and bad, it seems like the beggining of the school year is always a big stresser causing tics and other nerological issues to pop up. I just wanted you to know that there is other alternatives other than drugs. And they do make a huge difference, I promise.. I did have to research all this myself and dig and read, there just isn't any dr's out there who have any info on alternative forms of treatment. Oh by the way I find that physical fitness also seems to help, doing some daily exercise. Good luck I hope you take the time to read this because all the things I mentioned did change my brothers life. And made my parents lives so much happier..

Oh also somthing important if your son doesn't respond to any of the alternative supplements he might be having issues absorbing, My child would periodically under stress have an eye tic, he also had very poor imunity, the poor kid was the first to get sick and the last to get better, Anyway I came accross a recipe online, it is used by aids pacients to help their body absorb essential fatty acids, Well I tried my son on it and Wow what a difference, it is called a lemon olive oil drink, its 1 whole lemon, skin and all, with one tbs olive oil, 4 tbs juice consentrate, and a cup of water. blend and drain the pulp, they drink it with every meal, I added flax oil and found that my sons stress tic disapeared and when I forgot to give it to him it reapeared.. But the interesting thing to me is that I could never get rid of his stress tic, all the supplements I was giving him did nothing for it, until I gave in this drink, apparently lemons peel helps the body absorb nutrients.. You can give fish oil if you arn't a vegetarian, I am so I give flax, Fish oil is a stronger consentrate of omaga 3.. Once again good luck, and don't give up, or listen to the experts. I don't think they know a damn thing..

Godspeed..

liz

[health2ya]

Everyone all these are symptoms of Pyroluria which my daughter has. Look into it. There's a fantastic facebook page for it if you want to find out more. Hope some of you see this.

[finmacmissile]

Hi Burchambabe - i came across your post today and i'm not sure if you are still linked to this sight but thought i would share some info with you for your daughter. I have suffered with Tourettes for over 31 years (i blink, sniff, snort, clear my throat and jerk my neck) and found that i actually worsened recently (I'm now in my 30's). i have tried most things and nothing has helped until recently i tried accupunture and i have really noticed a difference since that - I'm becoming a huge advocate of accupunture as a treatment for trourettes and was amazed at the number of success stories related to this. In chinese medical terms it's reffered to as a deficiency of yin energy in the liver and is referred to as the 'internal wind'. I go for a session once a week and i have some herbal medicine i take daily and my tics have improved drastically. Really hope you get this.

[DPJJJJ]

I understand most parents are worrying about their TS kids, what is coming up in the future, getting better or getting worse? Their school and career?

My son Jacob had Tourette since 5 years old.   I went through so many doctors and psychologists and no one told me about Toureete until he is 12 years old.  His vocal tics has been always severe.
One good thing is: Tourette Syndrome does not affect their IQ and academic acheviment, lots of TS kids are really smart.  Jacob had been always top students at all classes. He always takes exams at seperate classroom so his vocal tics will not affect other classmates.
  He graduate from High School at 4.6 unweighted GPA and  2370 SAT score.  He was accepted by University of Chicago with scholarship last year.
Now Jacob is 19 years old.  He is volunteering Tourette Syndrome Chicago camp every summer and teaches other TS kids how to face social pressure and handle daily life.
He still has frequent and loud vocal tics.  Sometime I wonder how he handles it when the small classes at UC are only 6 to 20 students.  He seems doing well, getting all As at first year.  
Yes, I am wondering and worrying sometime how he can find a job after he gradute, what kind of company will hire employees that has loud vocal tics.  I think I can only leave this up to God.  Remember: one door closed and God will open another door for him.

[Mummy81]

I have a 7 year old boy who has in past and again now has eye tic, also sniffing things and other symptoms present,  we are looking in to  something called P A N D A S. it is caused by the bodys immune response to a strep infection,  the immune response can attack the brain,  since my son has been on antibiotics his tics, sniffing and mood have all been better and the tic only comes back when he is due the next dose,  most doctors have never heard of it so you will have to look it up.  When I found it it sounded just like my boy.
P A N D A S.  is the initials for a much lo ger name
Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with group a streptococci .  It  is in young children but can continue to have relapses or untreated can continue a long time.  Most other tic disorders don't start till children are older.  This comes on suddenly some time after a strep infection,
Good luck. All mums want to do is help there children I am at the beginning of a struggle to find the propped help for my son too but this seems to match my boy.

[lindascrogg51]

My son is now 35 yeas old,and was diagnosed when he was 8.His onset was so bad they put him in the hospital for a week and ran all sorts of test.I can't begin to tell you all the tics we have lived through.The very worse was the sound issues.Understand though this was around 1985.......no one knew or did they care to understand such a disorder.We have just last year realized that the issues of Randy NEVER being able to hear mine or his fathers voices,has now been diagnosed as misophonia .Look it up.Very interesting!God bless you and your family .It seems like your son will probably have a mild case of TS.Stay strong,and love him deeply!!!!!If you ever need to talk,look me up on FB,linda scroggins(white)  :)

[cathy227]

My son is 10 and has had tourettes since age 5. He has NEVER had a filling... ever. I also had every test under the sun done including hair analysis to determine mercury levels. My son has tourettes, plain and simple NOT due to mercury.

[TheBob_1]

I have not watched all videos provided, but the first thing I noticed in this one was that he was "gaming".  Is it possible "screen time" could be the culprit - or at least a trigger?  Early on, it seemed he would repeat the little "hmm" sounds, mostly when watching TV.  At age 8, I have a video of him playing a "DS" and blinking while cocking his head slightly.  It seems to happen more when or just after screen time, but not always. (???)

Our son is now 11 and he had gone several months without any noticeable tics - till recently.  He has had them off an on since about 4 or 5 - and as many others have reported, they change from one type to another.  In our case, there have been periods where he had none and we thought he had outgrown them - and then a new one would crop up after a few weeks or even several months.

For years, our Ped. has said it is "normal" in many kids and he will likely grow out of it.  Our son even had a :sleep deprived" test for epilepsy that was deemed negative (even though he seemed to have some convulsive, or at least highly agitated, periods after all the stimuli).

Bottom line:  has anyone come out of this on the other side or learned any more?  Please post!

Many thanks and good luck to all.

[TheBob_1]

Its been a  couple years since your posts.  Very much hoping you are still connected here and can report something or reply to this.  Our son is 11 and has developed yet another tic - nothing severe, but one that seems more frequent as well as persistent than the others.

Any news would be appreciated!

[angels4kali]

To answer your question, yes I still get the updates on this. A lot has changed since when I first posted this as an uninformed mom grasping for answers and I truly appreciate all the answers everyone supplied.

Update on Tony: Tony was finally seen by a neurologist at 5, but not  officially diagnosed until 6. He was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Generalized Anxiety. He is now 8 years old and with every year he has gained confidence, become less anxious, and the tics have now subsided almost completely. We still see a tic here and there (mostly neck jerking or blinking) especially when under stress, but almost never endless bouts every few seconds like when they first presented.

And if you wondering yes, screen time was one of his triggers.

For parents who find this thread while looking for support, I will tell you the thing that helped me absolutely the most in finding answers and coming to terms with what this was and how to help my son was a Facebook support group called Tic Talk. The people there embraced me and my son with  open arms and answered all my questions. They pick you up when you're down, offer you practical advice, or just let you rant if that's what you need  on some particularly bad day.

Once again, thanks for all the input!

[Ckalt]

sounds like we are going through this in parallel!  YOur son's story is very very similar to my son's.  He will be 9 in March.  I'm so grateful to have sites like this, and thanks for the facebook tip.

Have a wonderful day!

[peppisig]

Thanks for this post Alexm15, I have a 6 year old son who´s had small tics for a couple of year now, nothing we´ve really worried about until know, as they are getting much more severe.  I was reading through the other posts, that only mentioned treatment with medication, so I was thrilled when I saw your post that talked about Mercury being the culprit, which is something I suspected after hearing from a Father, who´s son developed autism after having one of those vaccinations.  This makes total sense to me and even though he has no mercury fillings, I know that there is mercury in those vaccinations, that they are giving the children these days.  If you could give a little bit more detailed description of the heavy metal detox you mentioned, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Peppisig